From Isabelle Selby Photography… This was a truly special and spectacular event because of all the love, support and emotion that went into the day. From my first conversation with Persis I knew that she was going to invest much time and energy into the day to make sure it was the wedding of her dreams, and I believe that she succeeded. There were so many special moments throughout the day from Persis’ grandma reading from the Sikh Holy Book to a moment in honor of Ryan’s dad who passed away the Christmas before their wedding. They truly honored him during the ceremony and his memory was an important part of the day.

In addition to this the details were gorgeous. The setting of a Shaker farm was very important to the couple and they let the natural beauty show. Ryan, the groom, made all of the printed design details including the invitation and they presented photos on the card table with old photos of family members. The table numbers were locations that they had traveled to together since they are avid travelers and each table had a story from that location. The big tent for dinner had farm tables and Shaker chairs, Mexican papel picado banners strung throughout the tent with their names “PERSIS + RYAN” cut out so beautifully along with bistro lights and handmade signs throughout. All in all it was a gorgeous event and wonderful display of their love for each other.

A stylish and cosmopolitan affair, this next celebration is one lovely tribute. For when planning their Big Day this pair wanted to honor beautiful Boston, the city they live in and love. From their fabulous first dance straight from the lens of Long Haul Films and every moment in between (including a few lightening bolts) it’s all waiting for you in the gallery!

From the beautiful Bride… When my husband and I got engaged we knew very little about weddings or wedding planning. I had only attended a couple family weddings and my husband a few friends, so we started this process with the naiveté it takes to either create something really unique or totally screw it up. Luckily, with the help of family and friends I believe we achieved the former.

We got engaged in March of 2013, one month before the Boston Marathon bombings. Both of us attended the marathon that day and our hearts ached for those directly impacted by what transpired. We also watched as people banded together around the victims and their loved ones and were so moved by the residents of the great city of Boston. At the time we were on our wedding venue search and when we saw the State Room and its views of the city skyline we knew it was the place for us. We owe Boston a great deal, as it is the city we met, the city we’ve made our home and the city we’ve built our careers. We wanted our wedding to be an ode to Boston and that was at the core of every decision we made.

Tributes to the city were included every detail; including our invitations, our rehearsal dinner (which was held at the Old State House) and through our color palette of gray, white and gold. In lieu of favors we made a donation to the world-renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. I also decided to let my bridesmaids choose their own gray gowns. They are all so unique and I didn’t feel right putting them in matching dresses. Similar to buildings in a city skyline, the individual dresses looked even more beautiful when grouped together.

We also wanted our wedding to convey who we are as a couple even behind closed doors. An important part of that is dancing. Chase and I are not trained dancers by any stretch but we love it and tend to dance in that “pretend like no one is watching” way. Whether at other weddings or in our living room alone it’s important part of who we are as a couple so we really wanted to showcase this on our big day. We practiced for months and performed a dance to Phillip Phillips “Gone, Gone, Gone.” It was definitely one of the highlights of the day for us.

You can never predict the weather but we never thought it would be 100 degrees on our September wedding, of course it was. And as the ominous dark clouds rolled in we thought the thunderstorms and hurricane winds were going to put a huge damper on our day. Someone must’ve been looking out for us because we made it to the State Room just in time to watch a beautiful lightning storm from the very top of Boston’s skyline. What’s that they say about good luck and rain? There has to be some meaning behind thunder and lightning, right?

I could go on and on about our day but I wanted to share a post from our videographer as I believe she captured the day perfectly.

From Melissa Dowler at Long Haul Films… I’m going to apologize up front, because I’m about to play blatant favorites. I know I shouldn’t but I can’t pretend. This was one of my favorite weddings of the season to film. In fact, this might have been one of my favorite weddings I’ve ever filmed. Of all time, hands down, drop the mic. BOOM.

The reason is because Jess and Chase are, well, pretty much awesome. In their business lives, Jess and Chase are creators, innovators, entrepreneurs, drivers of change in their community. On a personal level, they are two of the most authentic, funny, smart and high energy people you’ll ever meet. Just being around Jess and Chase gives you good vibes.

Full disclosure, before the wedding we already knew these two pretty well, especially Chase who is a commercial client we film with almost every week (not sick of us yet, are you Chase?) So we thought we had a pretty good handle on what their wedding day would be like. We knew it would be fun and light-hearted. We knew it would be stylish and cosmopolitan. We expected there would be a lot of epic dancing. All that was true, and then some (more blatant favoritism: BEST. FIRST. DANCE. EVER.). Beyond all of that, what this wedding also had, and what made it so incredibly wonderful to film, was HEART.

Jess and Chase, thanks not only for having us film your wedding, but for challenging us to create something different and unique, to reflect who you two are. We can’t wait to see you conquer the world together.

From the Bride… After 6 years of dating Dave and I got married at Ocean Edge Resort in Brewster, MA on a hot, humid September day. Surrounded by close family and friends, we were married by my godfather in an intimate beachside ceremony.

I did all the planning and decorating myself, attempting to achieve a rustic beach feel with baby’s breath, blue hydrangeas, and burlap accents. The Bridesmaids wore the dresses of their choice in a color and designer of my choice- we wanted to look back on our wedding pictures and be able to capture the unique personalities of our bridal party.

Summer Street Photography made us feel at ease and gave us just enough direction to snap some incredible pictures. We look back on our day and see such so much happiness, it was a truly magical day!

From Shannon St. Pierre… It was a completely magical day with Bride Andrea & Groom Ron! We were so fortunate to share in their special day ! From the amazing purple accents and lace that complemented the venue perfectly.The custom cigar lounge was a great addition to the festivities and thoroughly enjoyed by all the attendees. I think what really added to the evening was the feeling that Ron & Andrea were exuding for one another. The love in the air was palpable!

Join The Conversation

A wedding infused with gorgeous gold accents has SMP written all over it. So, when this pretty little number landed in our inbox we just couldn’t wait to share it. You see, it’s a day filled with not just love but plenty of pretty. I’m talking sparkling sequined accents and one gorgeous BHLDN gown (just to name a few)! Straight from Kelly Dillon it’s a gallery of goodness and it’s all right here.

From the beautiful Bride… Tommy and I both grew up in Weymouth; we went to High School together and graduated a year apart. We always had mutual friends and socialized with one another every so often. In our later 20’s we both bought homes in Weymouth that were only a block apart. One of my best friends was living with Tommy at the time and this is when we really started to spend more time together. We all started having a weekly dinner together on Thursday nights. I love to cook and entertain and Tommy loves to eat! Tommy always cleared his plate and would rave about my cooking. He would never let me clean a dirty dish or pan in the kitchen. I think that’s really when I started to fall for him. He would wash and I would dry and we would just talk. Our relationship really developed over food, wine and time. One of these Thursday night dinners was spent eating grilled pizza and drinking wine by a fire in my backyard. That night Tommy and I were the last ones by the fire, he kissed me and life changed for the better in an instant. We started dating and as the saying goes the rest is history.

Tommy always plans nights away for special occasions. For my 33rd birthday he planned an amazing weekend for us at the Chatham Bars Inn. It was my first time staying there and my love affair with CBI was born. Later in the year for my Mother’s birthday I planned a night away for her, my Father, Tommy and I at Chatham Bars Inn. What I did not know was Tommy had a plan of his own. My Mom and I went to Chatham early in the day to spend time together shopping, having lunch, just doing Mom and daughter stuff. Tommy “had to work” and he would drive down with my Dad later in the day. That afternoon Tommy went to my parent’s house and asked my Father for his daughter’s hand in marriage and of course my Dad agreed. That evening we had dinner reservations at the Sacred Cod, we decided to have a cocktail before in our main inn room. Tommy always starts the night with a toast, so of course when he asked us all to join him on the balcony to toast the birthday girl, I still suspected nothing. After a very touching toast to my Mother, he turned to me and told me how beautiful I looked then reached into his pocket and got down on one knee. I knew immediately he was about to propose and the only way I know how to describe what happened next is comparing it to an out of body experience. The world just went away…along with my ability to hear. I put my glass of wine down and held onto that railing tight; I thought I was going to pass out right there and then. I just remember looking down at Tommy and the most amazing ring I had ever seen in my life. I did not hear one word that came out of his mouth so I can’t really say I heard his beautiful proposal. He finally stood up, hugged me tight and that’s when I started to cry and was able to finally get out…YES, YES, YES. It was the most wonderful moment of my life, up to that point ;). We spent the rest of the night celebrating and talking wedding. We decided that night that we would have our wedding at The Chatham Bars Inn. How could we do it anywhere else? The next morning when we woke up Tommy proposed again and this time I heard every word.

The next Saturday we were back at CBI booking our wedding for November 29, 2014 in the Beach House. Two days later I found out I was pregnant with our daughter, Sadie Grace. I really didn’t have a chance to plan anything more than the date and location at that point. Learning we were having a baby in June changed my focus completely. Everything shifted to becoming a mother and planning for a baby. Being a bride definitely got put on the backburner. A few months later my sister Sara sent me a pin of a stunning dress. I knew as soon as I laid my eyes on it I had to have that dress for my wedding day. Little did I know the Isadora dress from BHLDN was sold out everywhere. After some serious internet searching and international phone calls to find the dress, I still came up with nothing. After a month or so I gave up and decided it wasn’t meant to be. But as my sister Sara always has, she came to my rescue and found me the last Isadora dress from BHLDN.

The description of the Isadora dress is “a liberal sprinkling of gold and silver sequins” and that’s exactly what inspired the theme for the wedding. Everything décor wise stemmed from the design of the dress. From our beautiful gold gilded wedding invitations to the playful escorts cards and wedding cake that were dripping with golden dots to the to the handmade gold sequin tablecloths that shimmered and caught the light beautifully, to the golden LOVE artwork that my sister and I found together. Everything just fell in place perfectly. I definitely ran with gold and glamorous and never looked back!

The flowers for the wedding were so important to me. I wanted them to be able to stand up to the boldness of the gold theme that would be running throughout the reception space, but I wanted them to be a bit more subdued and tranquil while still making a big impact. I knew I was in good hands with Kristen Erickson from Flourish. I told her exactly what I wanted and we worked together to come up with what I think were two breathtakingly beautiful table scenes. One table would feature a single large arrangement and the other was made up of three smaller arrangements. The vessels were silver mercury glass and that is how I worked the silver sequins of my dress into the décor as well. They married perfectly with gold tones of the votives with the soft candlelight. It all sat on top of ivory linen with a beautiful sheer dove gray table runner. When I walked into the reception space on our wedding night I could not have been more overjoyed. The space looked so incredibly beautiful! It sparkled and it was everything I had envisioned and more.

Join The Conversation

You’ve followed her style musings on her infamously chic blog, City Tonic, and now that she’s rocking a left hand ring Jessye is joining the SMP ranks as our newest Blogger Bride. She’ll be sharing the ins and outs, ups and downs, and everything in between on her road to merry matrimony. Scroll below and read on to get to know Jessye a wee bit better!

From the beautiful Bride-to-be… Hello, Style Me Pretty brides! I’m so excited to share my wedding planning adventures over the next few months as SMP’s newest blogger bride! I’m a Boston-based art director/designer and a style blogger at citytonic.com – So, I’ll be writing about bridal fashion and accessories, plus offering some creative ideas for stationary, favors and more. This September, I’m marrying my best friend and the love of my life, Kevin, on Martha’s Vineyard (woohoo!).

My first official post felt like the perfect opportunity to share a few favorites from our engagement session with the amazingly talented (and fellow blogger Bride) Cambria Grace. We had so much fun walking around Beacon Hill (where our relationship began!) on a pretty spring evening—taking in the neighborhood’s historic charm and a stunning rooftop view of the city.

I met Kevin in December of 2011 when I was working at a Boston ad agency that was known for throwing legendary holiday parties every year. At the time, Kevin had just moved to Boston from Hawaii (by way of Australia… lucky guy) and was working for the event company that happened to be planning our agency’s holiday soirée. I had noticed him around the office and jokingly told my co-workers that I thought he was cute. So, the day after the party, one of them slipped Kevin my business card (unbeknownst to me) as he was leaving. An hour later, I received a text saying: “Hey, it’s Kev!”… and I figured I might as well take a chance, even though I had never gone on a date with a total stranger before. I tried to play it cool and suggested we grab a casual weeknight dinner in Beacon Hill. A few days later, I found myself seated across from Kevin in a cozy neighborhood restaurant and immediately knew I was with someone special.

Fast forward three years, it was pouring rain on Christmas Eve and I had just gone to the gym and grocery store after a half day at work. I told Kevin I’d be home by 3:00, but I ended up doing some last-minute holiday shopping and got home two hours later than promised. I was drenched, exhausted and juggling too many grocery bags when I opened our apartment door and realized all the lights were off. There were about 200 votive candles in our living room and every surface was covered in rose petals. Our dog, Oscar, was lying on the sofa nonchalantly—but there was no sign of Kevin.

I was standing immobile in the doorway, still holding my gym bag and groceries, when he finally walked into the room looking very dapper and carrying a beautiful bouquet. He literally had to instruct me to close the door and drop my bags because I was in some crazy state of shock! Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Sadly, he had planned to film the whole thing with his GoPro, but the battery died because I arrived so late! Still—despite the snags—the proposal was more perfect than I could have imagined. I loved that it was just the two of us (plus Oscar!) in our cozy apartment. Afterwards, we celebrated at my parents’ house (they were in on the whole plan!) with champagne and an amazing Christmas Eve dinner.

I’m so excited to share this amazing wedding planning journey with you – we’re in this together! Until next time!